Last Modified: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 at 10:41 p.m.

But the teachers’ gains are at the expense of special needs and adult education programs.

The budget, which was accepted Wednesday, leaves the School Board about $166 million to spend and about $155 million in revenues.

About $1.9 million has been added to the general fund for employee salaries, said Business Manager Don Gaudet. The base pay for teachers is now $40,000.

More teachers and staff members also have been added, he said, though the exact number was unavailable.

But because the School Board is receiving less money from the state, it had to offset the increased pay by scaling back in other areas.

Money to support the I.D.E.A. grant, which benefits special education instruction, was reduced by $479,000, and the Adult Education Program was removed from the budget.

The adult program, which allows students who dropped out of school to return and earn a General Education Diploma, still exists but is now paid for by a state organization. The transfer saved the board $493,000.

“We had to be fiscally responsible,” said Superintendent Jo Ann Matthews. “The board did what was best for the children of Lafourche Parish.”

Matthews praised her staff for their hard work, as the school district continues to battle declining state dollars and increasing costs.

Local taxes have climbed, giving the parish more money, but for the fifth consecutive year, the Legislature hasn’t added money to the Minimum Foundation Program, a superfund for K-12 education.

At the same time, the school district has seen an upswing in the cost of employee and retirement benefits, and its annual debt payment.

Benefits increased by $4 million because of jumps in the price of health insurance and in how much each district pays the state’s retirement system, Gaudet said.

In addition, the board’s annual debt payment, from a series of construction projects dating to 1997, is $39.7 million.

Though that figure seems steep, Gaudet said, Lafourche is among the top school districts for debt services.

“We’re doing a really good job,” he added.

In addition to approving the budget, the School Board also gave permission to Matthews to makes adjustments as needed.

Her changes, however, cannot alter the general fund by more than 5 percent.

Staff Writer Sydni Dunn can be reached at 850-1148 or sydni.dunn@houmatoday.com.

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